Ui-Sinseol Light Rail Transit reduces commute time by 1 hour

Ui-Sinseol Light Rail Transit reduces commute time by 1 hour

Posted December. 05, 2018 07:53,

Updated December. 05, 2018 07:53

Ui-Sinseol Light Rail Transit reduces commute time by 1 hour.
December. 05, 2018 07:53.
by Ki-Beom Kwon kaki@donga.com.
The Ui-Sinseol Light Rail Transit, Seoul’s first light rail transit, has reduced the commute time of Gangbuk residents and cut the number of passengers using the subway line No. 4.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the positive effect of the light rail transit on Tuesday after conducting an analysis of the 12.42 million cases of transportation card usage near the Ui-Sinseol light rail line between May 27~June 2 in 2017 and May 26~June 1 this year, which was after the opening of the light rail transit. It was intended to analyze the impact of the light rail transit, which launched its service in September last year, on user convenience.

According to the analysis, the time required to travel between Ui-dong, Gangbuk-gu and Sinseol-dong, Dongdaemun-gu has been reduced significantly. It takes 23 minutes to travel from Ui-dong to Sinseol-dong during peak hours by the new Ui-Sinseol light rail line whereas it took 41-56 minutes by the existing city bus (1014 and 1166). Passengers can save up to one hour if they travel back and forth between the two areas by the Ui-Sinseol light rail line.

The new Ui-Sinseol light rail line also had the effect of reducing the congestion of the subway line No. 4. In particular, the number of passengers using the Suyu Station fell by 13.9 percent from the average of 91,881 a day last year to 79,146 in 2018. The two nearby stations - Gireum Station and Miasageori Station - also saw the reduction of passengers by 12.6 percent and 8 percent, respectively. The number of transfer for a trip dropped as well. The average number of transfer required for a trip to Seodaemun and Mapo fell from 2.01 last year to 1.27 this year while the average number of transfer for a trip to Gangnam and Seocho dropped from 2.07 to 1.13 year-on-year.

The Ui-Sinseol Light Rail Transit, Seoul’s first light rail transit, has reduced the commute time of Gangbuk residents and cut the number of passengers using the subway line No. 4.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the positive effect of the light rail transit on Tuesday after conducting an analysis of the 12.42 million cases of transportation card usage near the Ui-Sinseol light rail line between May 27~June 2 in 2017 and May 26~June 1 this year, which was after the opening of the light rail transit. It was intended to analyze the impact of the light rail transit, which launched its service in September last year, on user convenience.

According to the analysis, the time required to travel between Ui-dong, Gangbuk-gu and Sinseol-dong, Dongdaemun-gu has been reduced significantly. It takes 23 minutes to travel from Ui-dong to Sinseol-dong during peak hours by the new Ui-Sinseol light rail line whereas it took 41-56 minutes by the existing city bus (1014 and 1166). Passengers can save up to one hour if they travel back and forth between the two areas by the Ui-Sinseol light rail line.

The new Ui-Sinseol light rail line also had the effect of reducing the congestion of the subway line No. 4. In particular, the number of passengers using the Suyu Station fell by 13.9 percent from the average of 91,881 a day last year to 79,146 in 2018. The two nearby stations - Gireum Station and Miasageori Station - also saw the reduction of passengers by 12.6 percent and 8 percent, respectively. The number of transfer for a trip dropped as well. The average number of transfer required for a trip to Seodaemun and Mapo fell from 2.01 last year to 1.27 this year while the average number of transfer for a trip to Gangnam and Seocho dropped from 2.07 to 1.13 year-on-year.